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Park RoadPark Road was named because it led to the park on the outskirts of Loughborough.86 Park RoadCharles Ball, who served with 7th Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers and who died in Gallipoli on 13 September 1915, aged 36, originally lived at 86 Park Road with his mother, brothers and sister.Charles Frederick Ball was the son of Alfred Bramley Ball and Mary Bowley Kirby who were married in Edmonton, Middlesex, in 1876. Mary was originally from Ohio.Charles was born in Loughborough in 1879 and was usually known as ‘Fred’. He had four brothers Alfred, John, Herbert and George and one sister Constance. Charles’s father, a pharmaceutical chemist with premises at 14 High Street, Loughborough, died in 1889 and his mother moved, first to 86 Park Road, and later to 8 Forest Road.Fred was educated at Loughborough Grammar School. He was good at languages, enjoyed travel and became a fine cricketer and golfer. His true passion, however, was for botany.Fred worked for several years in Messrs. Barron’s Nursery, Elvaston, Derby, and subsequently was employed in Barr’s Nurseries in Surbiton, Surrey. From there he entered Kew in July 1900, worked first in the Temperate House, and was soon promoted to sub-foreman in the Herbaceous and Alpine Department. Leaving Kew in 1903, he joined his brother in a market garden at Nottingham, but found the business insufficient to support two, and returned to Kew. In December 1906 Fred was appointed foreman in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin, and seven months later, having passed the necessary examination, Assistant to the Keeper, Sir Frederick Moore.Fred had a special interest in Alpines, and generally spent his annual leave collecting and studying the flora of the Swiss Alps and northern Italy. In 1911, sponsored by Pierce, the O’Mahony of Kerry, he visited Bulgaria and obtained permission for a fellow Kewite, Herbert Cowley, to accompany him. The two men were personal guests of King Ferdinand. He was editor of Irish Gardening, and a member of the Kew Guild Committee. Another interest was plant-breeding, and several of his hybrids, including Calceolaria JBallii, received favourable commendation.In late November 1914, Fred enlisted in the 7th (Pals) Battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, marrying his girlfriend Alice Agnes Lane of 15, Percy Place, Dublin, soon afterwards on 16 December 1914..Fred’s battalion, which included a number of Dublin footballers whom he knew, was trained in route marching, trench digging and musketry at the Curragh Camp, County Kildare, Ireland, and in Hampshire. The battalion sailed from Devonport on the SS Alaunia for the Mediterranean on 11 July 1915, travelling via Gibraltar, Malta, to Alexandria, Egypt. On 25 July they arrived at Mitylene, Lesbos, Greece. On 6th August they were transhipped to HMT Fauvette and departed for Suvla Bay in Gallipoli, arriving the following morning. They were immediately involved in the attack on Chocolate Hill, followed by the Battle for Kizlar Dagh from 13-15 August.Fred was killed in action in the battle for Scimitar Hill on 13 September 1915. He is commemorated at Loughborough Grammar School, St. Mobhi’s Church, Glasnevin, and on the Carillon. An obituary in the Irish Times spoke of Fred as “one of the foremost horticulturists in Ireland, and one of the best authorities on flowers. He had a fearless, brave tender and true disposition, and those who mourn him must thank god for lending them such a beautiful life, for a little while”.

Park RoadPark Road was named because it led to the park on the outskirts of Loughborough.86 Park RoadCharles Ball, who served with 7th Battalion, Royal Dublin Fusiliers and who died in Gallipoli on 13 September 1915, aged 36, originally lived at 86 Park Road with his mother, brothers and sister.Charles Frederick Ball was the son of Alfred Bramley Ball and Mary Bowley Kirby who were married in Edmonton, Middlesex, in 1876. Mary was originally from Ohio.Charles was born in Loughborough in 1879 and was usually known as ‘Fred’. He had four brothers Alfred, John, Herbert and George and one sister Constance. Charles’s father, a pharmaceutical chemist with premises at 14 High Street, Loughborough, died in 1889 and his mother moved, first to 86 Park Road, and later to 8 Forest Road.Fred was educated at Loughborough Grammar School. He was good at languages, enjoyed travel and became a fine cricketer and golfer. His true passion, however, was for botany.Fred worked for several years in Messrs. Barron’s Nursery, Elvaston, Derby, and subsequently was employed in Barr’s Nurseries in Surbiton, Surrey. From there he entered Kew in July 1900, worked first in the Temperate House, and was soon promoted to sub-foreman in the Herbaceous and Alpine Department. Leaving Kew in 1903, he joined his brother in a market garden at Nottingham, but found the business insufficient to support two, and returned to Kew. In December 1906 Fred was appointed foreman in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin, and seven months later, having passed the necessary examination, Assistant to the Keeper, Sir Frederick Moore.Fred had a special interest in Alpines, and generally spent his annual leave collecting and studying the flora of the Swiss Alps and northern Italy. In 1911, sponsored by Pierce, the O’Mahony of Kerry, he visited Bulgaria and obtained permission for a fellow Kewite, Herbert Cowley, to accompany him. The two men were personal guests of King Ferdinand. He was editor of Irish Gardening, and a member of the Kew Guild Committee. Another interest was plant-breeding, and several of his hybrids, including Calceolaria JBallii, received favourable commendation.In late November 1914, Fred enlisted in the 7th (Pals) Battalion of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, marrying his girlfriend Alice Agnes Lane of 15, Percy Place, Dublin, soon afterwards on 16 December 1914..Fred’s battalion, which included a number of Dublin footballers whom he knew, was trained in route marching, trench digging and musketry at the Curragh Camp, County Kildare, Ireland, and in Hampshire. The battalion sailed from Devonport on the SS Alaunia for the Mediterranean on 11 July 1915, travelling via Gibraltar, Malta, to Alexandria, Egypt. On 25 July they arrived at Mitylene, Lesbos, Greece. On 6th August they were transhipped to HMT Fauvette and departed for Suvla Bay in Gallipoli, arriving the following morning. They were immediately involved in the attack on Chocolate Hill, followed by the Battle for Kizlar Dagh from 13-15 August.Fred was killed in action in the battle for Scimitar Hill on 13 September 1915. He is commemorated at Loughborough Grammar School, St. Mobhi’s Church, Glasnevin, and on the Carillon. An obituary in the Irish Times spoke of Fred as “one of the foremost horticulturists in Ireland, and one of the best authorities on flowers. He had a fearless, brave tender and true disposition, and those who mourn him must thank god for lending them such a beautiful life, for a little while”.

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